Driver breaks and driving-time limitsCopy link

Driver breaks are a Pro feature. The free tier can use them within the free paid-feature optimizations.

Routing24 schedules mandatory driver breaks as part of the route: each break is placed at a position that satisfies the rule and appears as a step in the route. Any rule that cannot be satisfied is reported.

This tutorial plan runs two regional couriers under different rules, a driving-trigger rule on one and a fixed lunch window on the other:

Tutorial - Driver breaks
PRO
Two regional couriers under break rules: one on the EU preset with a weekly driving budget, whose round gets the 45-minute driving break, the other with a fixed lunch between 11:30 and 13:30. Uses Driver breaks & driving limits, included in Pro.
Open in app

Choose a break ruleCopy link

Open a vehicle on the Fleet page and expand the Breaks section. Pick one of:

  • None. No break rules (the default).
  • EU driving rules (EC 561/2006). A break of at least 45 minutes before the driver exceeds 4.5 hours of accumulated driving. The break may be split into a 15-minute part followed by a 30-minute part. Time at stops counts as work, not rest, so it never resets the driving clock. The rule repeats: after a full break, another 4.5-hour block begins.
  • US HOS (FMCSA). A 30-minute interruption of driving after 8 cumulative hours of driving. Any non-driving time counts: a stop with 30 or more minutes of service satisfies the rule by itself, so routes with long stops may need no additional break time.
  • Custom. Define your own rule: the maximum driving time, the break length, an optional two-part split, and whether service time counts toward the break (US-style).

Custom also allows up to two fixed breaks: clock-window pauses such as lunch between 11:30 and 13:30 for 30 minutes. The break must start inside its window.

The tutorial plan carries one of each. Courier A runs under EU driving rules with a weekly budget (see the next section); Courier B takes a 30-minute lunch starting between 11:30 and 13:30. Both drive rounds through the towns surrounding the city. Optimize and open the two routes: Courier A accumulates well over 4.5 hours of driving, so the 45-minute break is inserted before the trigger is crossed. Courier B carries no driving-trigger rule, so its only pause is the lunch, which appears as its own step in the route.

To apply one configuration fleet-wide, import it via Excel: set the break columns on every vehicle row (see below).

Driving-hours budget (carry-in)Copy link

Weekly and multi-day driving limits span more than one plan, so Routing24 takes them as input. Per vehicle:

  • Driving limit per period (h): e.g. 56 hours per week under EU rules, or your own contract limit.
  • Already driven (h): hours this driver has used up in the current period, tracked outside Routing24 (e.g. from the tachograph).

The optimizer then caps the route's total driving at the remaining hours. The "already driven" value is per driver and is never copied to other vehicles. The tutorial's Courier A carries a 56-hour weekly limit with 49 hours already driven, so its route may add at most 7 hours of driving.

Where you see the breaksCopy link

  • The route panel shows each break as its own step, with its start time and length. A break is taken at the previous stop's location.
  • The driver view (shared route link) shows break steps too. See The driver's route view.
  • The Excel solution export marks break rows with the type "Break".
  • If a rule cannot be satisfied, the route shows a problem row naming the violation. A single drive longer than the driving trigger shows "Violates the driver-break rules": a break is taken at a stop, and that drive has none. A break placed on a stop marked "no breaks" when no other stop could host it shows "Break taken at a stop where breaks are not allowed".

Breaks and transfer ride limitsCopy link

Breaks combine with Max time in vehicle on a pickup & delivery transfer. Break placement avoids the span between a transfer's pickup and its delivery where it can: a slot inside the span is chosen only when the alternatives would make a stop late or every stop outside the span forbids breaks. A break taken there counts toward the transfer's ride time like driving or waiting does: it is charged against Max ride overtime where one is set, and past that band the bound stays hard, so a pair that cannot meet its bound around the mandated breaks goes unassigned with the "Max time in vehicle" reason. Plain orders are unaffected: their shelf life is enforced through the order's own window, so it combines with breaks freely.

Excluding stopsCopy link

Some locations do not permit stationary vehicles. Check No driver breaks at this stop on an order (or No driver breaks at this depot on a depot) and the optimizer will not schedule a break there. In the tutorial the order named Loading dock is marked this way, so neither courier pauses at it.

Spreadsheet columnsCopy link

On the Vehicles sheet: Break rule (EU, US, or Custom), Break max driving, h, Break duration, Break split (15+30), Break service counts, Fixed break from/to/duration (and a second Fixed break 2 set), Driving limit, h, and Hours driven. EU and US ignore the detail columns. On the Orders and Depots sheets: No break (Yes to exclude the stop).

Every exported workbook includes a Documentation sheet describing each column with examples.

Next stepCopy link

Breaks extend route duration, which affects cost. See Vehicle costs and the COST metric.